


Enough

by tchele



Category: NCIS
Genre: Angst, F/M, First Kiss, Fluff, Pre-Relationship, Slow Burn
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-11-23
Updated: 2018-11-23
Packaged: 2019-08-27 23:27:01
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,676
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/16712017
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/tchele/pseuds/tchele
Summary: Post 16.08 “Friendly Fire” can be read as a companion to “Your Art Got Me Here” or alone I think. Also slight spoilers for ep 11.18 Crescent City part 1 and ep 13.03 IncognitoMcGee pushes Ellie in the right direction on the way home from Afghanistan.





	Enough

It had been a long few days. He loved his job, but there were times he wished he had a less adventurous one. The last few days were an example. They had been sent to Afghanistan on a moments notice to investigate and ended up in the midst of gunfire. They solved the case and were now almost home. The agent next to him fidgeted in her seat. She was as tough as they come, but he knew that even though the man who was killed was on the other side and responsible for the deaths of at least a dozen soldiers she was affected by it. Not wanting to bring up Qasims death Tim took a different tactic.

“So what’s the deal with you and Torres?” Tim asked.

“What do you mean?” Ellie replied suspiciously.

“Well for starters you spend more time with him than I do with Delilah.” Tim said.

“I do not, that isn’t possible.” Ellie replied.

“You spend all day with him at work, and how many nights a week are you together?” Tim asked.

“Not that many.” Ellie said. “Besides we’re friends. Just like you and I or Jimmy and I. You aren’t saying anything about him.”

“Jimmy’s married, and even if he wasn’t devoted Breena, you would never go there with a married man, not after what you went through.” Tim replied. “What did you do for dinner last Thursday?”

“Tried out a new restaurant near my apartment. Had a delicious cheeseburger, fries, and steamed carrots.” Ellie answered.

“And what did Nick have?” Tim prompted.

“A Turkey Club.” Ellie answered.

“And what did you do after dinner?” Tim asked.

“Went home, read a book on my couch, and then went to bed.” Ellie answered.

“Alone?” Tim asked.

“Timothy McGee is that an appropriate question to be asking?” Ellie teased. “Yes I went to bed alone, but Nick did come over for while after dinner.”

“What did you do Saturday?” Tim asked.

“What’s with the inquisition? I went for a run, did laundry, painted some, went to the gun range, and met some friends for drinks.” Ellie answered.

“What friends?” Tim asked with a smirk.

“Jack, Alex, Jimmy, and Nick.” Ellie replied as she mumbled the last part.

“And where was Nick while you were doing laundry?” Tim asked.

“Doing his laundry?” Ellie replied with her face screwed up in thought. Failing to mention he did all the laundry while he watched her paint.

“And who drove to get drinks?” Tim asked.

“He did, but I drove home.” Ellie answered.

“I bet. You probably drank him under the table and he was too buzzed to drive. Does he know about your super power?” McGee asked.

“He hasn’t actually figured that out yet. He always seems to forget I drank as much as he did, if not more.” Ellie answered.

“So by the use of the word always I take it this has happened more than once?” Tim teased.

“A few times. I try not to make a habit of getting men drunk and making them sleep on my couch.” Ellie answered.

“Its just you seem happier lately, I wondered if there was a reason.” Tim replied. “I mean the scandalous things you two talk about. Unplugging for three days, positions and that dance? Very NSFW.”

Ellie blushed slightly. “I guess I have been. I mean art is therapy and that helps, but he does make me laugh. Reminds me not to take myself too seriously.”

“I’m glad he makes you laugh, but just so you know? he’s completely in love with you.” Tim said. 

“No, he’s not.” Ellie replied. “I’m not his type remember?”

“Ellie, talk to him.” Tim said. “I sat in his desk for years and watched my partners do the same dance you two are doing, figuratively at least. You two are way more obvious then they ever were, but you know how they ended up. Don’t be like them.”

The plane began to descend and Ellie was left with her thoughts. She had known her feelings for him were changing, but hadn’t given herself the chance to hope that his may have changed too. As soon as the plane touched down and it was safe to use her cellphone she checked her messages. There was, as expected, one from her mom asking if she had changed her mind about coming home for the holidays as well as one from her brother giving her a heads up about their moms message, and a message from Nick. He was whining about how boring it was in the office and asked if she wanted to have a late dinner when she got back to town. She sent him a quick message to let him know they landed and agreed to dinner as long as she didn’t have to go anywhere. He texted her back and said he would get takeout and meet her at her place. She and McGee caught a cab back to the Naval Yard to pick up their vehicles and she headed home.

She was home long enough to change into a pair of comfy sweats, let her hair down, and start a fire in the fireplace before there was a knock on her door. She crossed the room, took a deep breath, and opened the door to let her partner in. 

“I stopped at that Italian place you like so much and got you a calzone. Hope that’s ok.” Nick said.

“It’s great. You know me so well.” Ellie replied with a small smile.

They unpacked the food, got drinks from her fridge, and moved to sit on the couch to eat their meal. Nick noticed she was quieter than normal, but hoped it was just from having been in Afghanistan and traveling. He told her about Kasie’s field trip to find the crime scene, and even told her about Kasie threatening him with snakes. Nothing seemed to get her to open up.

“Ellie? Are you ok? Do you want me to go?” Nick asked.

“Before we left for Afghanistan we were talking about Captain Voit and Wesley Moore and their relationship. You basically said that single members of the opposite sex can’t just be friends. What does that mean for us?” Ellie asked abruptly.

“You and I aren’t just friends, I don’t know what we are exactly, but I know that I don’t think about you the same way I do my other friends and coworkers.” Nick confessed.

“Why didn’t you ever say anything?” Ellie asked.

“I don’t know.” Nick replied. “Why’d you bring this up now?” 

“McGee said somethings on the flight back.” Ellie answered.

“What kind of things?” Nick asked.

“Random things like our salacious conversation topics in the office, and all the things we do together.” Ellie answered. “He said that he watched Tony and Ziva do the same things and he wanted us to have a better ending then them.”

“Just what happened in Afghanistan that left McGee soul searching?” Nick asked.

“Atwa was killed right in front of us, he was closer to me than you are right now. Just gone. I think McGee was trying to distract me. I was starting to get lost in my head. He can read me pretty well after all these years, after everything he knows me pretty well.” Ellie replied.

“I know you better.” Nick said with a grin.

“You know me in a different way. He still knows a few things you don’t.” Ellie replied with a matching grin.

“What does that mean? What does he know that I don’t?” Nick asked.

“He knows my super power.” Ellie answered. “Which you will have to figure out on your own.”

“I know other things.” Nick said as he cleared their dishes.

“He definitely does not know his way around my apartment, and would never feel comfortable enough to do the dishes, or the laundry. Although when I met him he was already dating Delilah and I was married. Though we did go undercover once as husband and wife.” Ellie replied as she joined him to grab a beer for each of them from the fridge.

“How did that compare to Charlie and Luis?” Nick asked.

“There was no comparison. We actually fought almost the entire time. I was so angry with him.” Ellie answered as they settled on the couch.

“Really? You and he seem to always get along.” Nick replied.

“It’s stupid now, but I was angry with him because he ruined my vacation plans with my husband. A few months later I found out my husband was cheating on me and we got divorced. Tim looked out for me and showed how good a friend he was then. Anyway even though we were undercover as husband and wife it wasn’t like our op where we had a backstory and had to actually convince anyone we were a couple.” Ellie answered.

“Ahh so no making out with your partner.” Nick replied.

“I didn’t say that.” Ellie said 

“Wait what? This I gotta hear. You and McGee?” Nick asked.

“It was quick, like what you do when you get home from work.” Ellie answered. 

“I wasn’t expecting you to kiss me that day.” Nick said as he absently played with her hair.

“I didn’t plan it, but it just felt like something Charlie would do.” Ellie confessed. 

They sat there in silence for a moment, staring into each other’s eyes. Ellie bit her lip as she realized how easy it would be to lean forward and press her lips to his. Immediately her brain went into overdrive thinking of the consequences of that action. Before she could make a decision she felt Nick pull her close and drop a quick kiss on her lips. She turned and kissed him, this kiss was full of passion and promise. When they broke apart she rested her head on his shoulder and watched the fire. She didn’t know where this would all lead, but finding out that he shared her growing feelings was enough for now.

**Author's Note:**

> This story did not end up as I expected. I did not plan for it to be a companion piece to my previous one shot, not did I expect it to be this long or this angsty. It may actually be terrible I don’t know, enjoy....


End file.
